


Saunder's Farm

by ChibiTabatha



Category: TWRP | Tupper Ware Remix Party (Band)
Genre: Fear, Gen, Haunted Houses, Horror, Pumpkin carving, graphic descriptions of pumpkin insides, halloween themed, haunted hay ride, legitimate spooky shit
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-07-17
Updated: 2019-07-17
Packaged: 2020-06-29 20:21:05
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 10,226
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19837831
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ChibiTabatha/pseuds/ChibiTabatha
Summary: Tabatha takes the gang to Ottawa to experience Saunder's Farms, a fairly staple Canadian Halloween experience. Some thing seems to be lurking in the mazes. Is it just the ambiance, or is it something else? What will happen when they return for Fright Night? No matter what happens, Sung knows they'll all settle down for pumpkin carving after. Who knew you had to carve them!





	1. Daytime Mazes

**Author's Note:**

> Hello all! Welcome to my piece for this years TWBB. I wanted something not plot heavy and fun. So my brain wrote this instead. Haha, whoops. The place mentioned here is real, I've gone a few times, mostly as a child but once as an adult. Some of this was written from memory other parts are what I like to call, creative licence. Haha.
> 
> Now to celebrate my lovely collaborator twinnAJ. They were very sweet and honestly I would work with them any day of the week. You can find them both on their [ main blog](https://twinnaj.tumblr.com/) and their [art blog](https://twinnart.tumblr.com/). Please visit them and shower them with praise. Their piece is in chapter 2 where you'll find all this repeated there as well.

Well now isn't this a strange place. Mazes and barns; Humans everywhere. It's not like they hadn't seen farms before. But this was new; Everything was more fall-ish. The farm had been suggested to them by their friend Tabatha. She had mentioned coming to this place as a child. And she said it might help them understand "Halloween" a bit better. Honestly what was this odd celebration. Children dressed as creatures would appear at the door and say trick or treat, but always got treats never tricks. What was that about?  
  
All that aside, he eyed the pumpkins they passed by the front entrance, "You can buy one and carve it later. You're lucky my aunt is willing to look after one teen and a bunch of aliens."  
  
"Carve pumpkins? You mean the ones with faces don't come like that?" Sung turned to look at her through his dark sunglasses.  
  
"Of course not. And be careful about your glasses. It's easy enough to say you guys are excited for Halloween if I don't have to make up stories about contact lenses. Again."  
  
He smiled and clapped the girl on the back, "Of course Tabby."  
  
Even through his excited glancing around, he could hear Meouch arguing with Havve over something or another. The rustling of hair brought to mind the exasperated guitarist shaking his head back and forth.  
  
"Will you two knock it off. If you don't behave we're turning this spaceship around," some how the smallest and youngest, and only human of the group was left to wrangle the band members.  
  
Phobos pulled up beside her and gently took one of her hands, gently motioning to a map. The group pulled up to the large map, Phobos pointing out the hedge mazes, "Yeah we can only do those while it's light outside. After dark is the best time for the hayride and the haunts."  
  
"Haunts?" Meouch placed a hand on his shoulder and leaned over sung to get a closer look at the map.  
  
"A HANG OUT I BELIEVE IS CALLED A HAUNT COMMANDER," Havve's tinny voice echoed in the space around them.  
  
The girl laughed, "No, no. But yes. Haunts are just set up to scare the patrons."  
  
Phobos looked on confused before loosing his hand from hers and signing, ' _Why would one want to be scared? On purpose?_ '  
  
She smiled up at Phobos, "Yes, some people enjoy the rush of adrenaline. Other people just enjoy the concept of monsters and ghosts." Grabbing the guitarists hand again she directed the group towards the hedge mazes. "Come on guys, once we're done with the mazes we can get pumpkins and something to eat."  
  
Phobos stumbled a bit before falling into step with the girl, Havve brushing past to take the girl's other hand. Sure she was their neighbour, but she was also like family.  
  
"Is Hogan going to be okay with the stress from the haunted houses Sung?" Meouch had fallen into step with the shorter alien.  
  
"Honestly, I don't know. But I think we'll have to risk it."  
  
"That doesn't seem like the smart thing to do dude."  
  
"Don't sweat it Commander. Besides, Tabatha wouldn't suggest anything she doesn't think we can't handle."  
  
"What about the time she suggested a punching bag for his more,” a pause, “aggressive tendencies and we wound up with a hanging pin cushion for knives. I didn't know we had that many knives."  
  
"That's because my dad keeps giving them to you guys when we get new knife sets," a sideways glance shot to the two falling behind. "You guys might want to keep up or you'll get lost."  
  
"I can see over most of these, it's fine kiddo."  
  
"This one is very round?" Sung rose onto his tiptoes and twisted this way and that trying to see the shape of it.  
  
"IT APPEARS TO BE A SIMPLE CIRCULAR PATTERN," the end of the statement was far more staticky.  
  
"Rest your voice box my friend. You guys go have fun in the mazes. I'll be on that bench over there with water and snacks. Okay?" she had pointed to an easy to see bench.  
  
Phobos nodded and gently took both hands in his before pressing his forehead to hers. It was their silent way of thanking each other. Once the girl headed off in the other direction Phobos stood much taller and made a small humming noise in his throat before motioning to the first maze.  
  
"Is it even considered a maze if it’s just a spiral or circle?" Meouch ran a hand through his mane.  
  
' _I'm sure it’s so human children can easily navigate and not get lost_ ,' the guitarist signed.  
  
"Yeah that makes sense. But then why is the kid not coming with us?" Meouch motioned with a thumb to their human companion, past the entrance to the simple maze.  
  
"She wants us to experience it ourselves. That's not a bad thing Commander!" the now shortest of the group clapped him on the back.  
  
"Yeah but how are we supposed to learn about humans without a human guide. We said we wanted to know more about Halloween. Dumping us in the pool to drown doesn't seem the smartest bet," despite his grumbling he kept up with the group.  
  
"PERHAPS SHE WANTS US TO SEE AND MAKE OUR OWN OBSERVATIONS BEFORE JUST TELLING US."  
  
Sung heard the soft whispering of another group passing them going the opposite way from the band. Hushed voices murmuring of their 'costumes' and how the robot 'looks so real' maybe they were 'cosplayers' here for a 'photoshoot'. He didn't want to listen too closely but he now for sure had questions he wanted to ask later.  
  
The odd thing about the gentle curve of the maze is that it shielded them enough from the sun that it wasn't too warm, but it was just nice to walk through. As they made their way back from the center, the group fell silent, taking in the sounds of children yelling and laughing, parents calling their children’s names, the very distant sounds of a tractor engine, and even more closely, the sounds of the wind weaving through the hedge, whispering along any exposed skin. For some reason this sensation made his hair stand on edge, like everything had to be on high alert. But none of the others seemed to sense it, so maybe it was just him?  
  
They waved to their friend as they made their way to the next maze. This one seemed the more complex of the others. Much taller hedges, just a touch taller than Hogan. "This one looks like an actual maze. Let's meet up over there," Meouch pointed to a wooden platform that rose above the sea of green, "if we get separated that is."  
  
Phobos and Havve nodded their agreement, but the bassist's words had also fallen on deaf ears. Something was just slightly off as Sung followed his friends into the hedges. Several twists and turns led them to a dead end. Havve and Meouch laughed, while Phobos' shoulders shook in merriment. Sung was too busy looking around, it felt like he was being watched. Like they were being watched.  
  
That odd gust of wind brushed his exposed skin, making him shiver. He could almost hear words that time, so he stopped to take a look. Turning this way and that, he could see nothing but he could feel his name on the soft breeze. "Hello?" he called out.  
  
Something seemed to snap, like a rubber band, into place. Shaking his head he turned to tell his friends what was going on, but they were nowhere to be seen. Oddly, it seemed quieter as well. Straining his ears he tried to make out any sort of sound. It was like the time they went to a pool and someone had been calling to him. It sounded like everything was coming from above water and far away.  
  
Shaking his head again he frowned. This was all too weird. He glanced around, there he saw the wooden platform. That would be the easiest way to find his friends, if he could see into the maze. Pulling his jacket closer to his body he pushed forward, but he wasn't sure if it was even the right direction. Turning a corner he slammed into a young man, causing them both to land on their butts.  
  
"Oh hey man, sorry about that," Sung scrambled to his feet and held his hand out to the other guy.  
  
"It's all good. I wasn't looking where I was going. Do you know which way the exit is?" the man brushed himself off. He was lanky looking man, looked like he was in his 20's.  
  
"Sorry, I'm not even sure where my friends are at this point," Sung scratched the back of his head before wiping a hand over his face. When his hand didn't touch his sunglasses panic gripped his heart. Wild eyes turning up to look at the young human male.  
  
The guy didn't even blink at the strange sight of Sung's eyes. "I just wanna get out of here and go home. Do you think your friends can help us?" the guy looked around.  
  
"Uh, probably," something seemed unnatural. Something was very off. All those animal documentaries he watched that mentioned the fight or flight reflex were rushing in his ears. He wanted to _run_ , far, far away. He swallowed it down, "I'm Sung by the way and you are?"  
  
"Doesn't matter, let's find your friends and get out of here. I just want to leave," the guy brushed past Sung's extended hand, and when he did it was like the cool icy grip of winter bit into his skin.  
  
A nervous laugh rumbled out of him before he trailed behind the odd human. It was a human right? He wasn't aware of any other humanoid lifeforms on the planet from his readings. He shook his head again, zoning out wasn't helping. He focused on the guy in front of him. Blue jeans, black sweater, brown hair, brown boots covered in mud. Sung blinked a few times. Mud? It was dry as a bone. No rain. That was the whole reason they wound up here this particular weekend. Maybe he had gotten food before getting lost in the maze. Stepped in a spilt drink or something. Yeah, that had to be it.  
  
When he looked up, he almost jumped out of his skin. The guy was looking at him over his shoulder, a look he had never seen before in his eyes. "You," he took a steadying breath, his prismatic core was buzzing in his chest, "you good buddy?"  
  
"I just want to go home."  
  
Something in the guys tone of voice chilled his blood, "Yeah man. I do too, so why don't we just,” a pause, “keep walking, okay?"  
  
The man said nothing, his body slowly turning towards Sung. At this point, he agreed with the urge to run and he did. He sprinted in the opposite direction. Letting his feet carry him as fast and far in the other direction. Only when he heard the sound of footsteps pounding after him did he push his body even harder.  
  
This time when he slammed into something tall and metallic he could only feel relieved as metal finger bit into his shoulder. He gripped the black jacket Tabatha had insisted Havve wear, his lungs screaming for oxygen.  
  
"Whoa man, you good?" Meouch's hand gently touched his shoulder.  
  
Sung practically jumped over the hedge at the touch. "No. No. We gotta _leave_ man. _Right now_."  
  
Phobos gently pried Sung free from Havve's jacket, looking into his eyes, seeing nothing but himself in their reflective surface. ' _Where are your glasses?_ ' he signed slowly in an attempt to keep the other calm.  
  
"I'll tell you when we get out of here. We need to _leave_ ," he tugged on Phobos' sweater.  
  
The other three exchanged silent looks before gently guiding the shaken keytarist towards the exit. When they got to the bench their human companion was on, Sung ran a hand through his hair. Tabatha scowled and pulled another pair of glasses out of her bag before pressing them into Sung's shaking hands. "So what happened to the other pair?" her voice brokered no option other than answering.  
  
"I ran into someone. I think that's when I lost them," he turned the spare pair over in his hands. "Can we pick up pumpkins and go home now?"  
  
This time the human exchanged looks with the other three members. "Sung, did they say or do anything to you that you want to talk about?"  
  
The group was met with silence, the soft clicking of the arms of the glasses pressing against each other the only sound coming from the clearly shaken member of the group. The thud of someone running past their bench made Sung flinch. Tabatha gently pressed a hand to his arm, gently rubbing. "He just wanted to leave. Nothing wrong with that. But the way he looked at me, it was like he was staring through me. Everything about him was unsettling. It was like he brought the chill of winter with him and something was just plain wrong with the dude,” every word was tense with whatever had happened back in that maze.  
  
The sole human hummed softly, “Guess you saw a ghost my friend.”  
  
Meouch tsked softly, “Come on Tabs. We both know that ghosts aren’t real.”  
  
“Sung saw something that fits the description, just ‘cause I wasn’t there doesn’t mean I don’t believe him,” she glowered at the tall alien.  
  
“I just want to get some pumpkins and forget all about this. Can we please go home?”  
  
“PERHAPS RETURNING IN THE EVENING WOULD NOT BE INTELLIGENT LADY TABATHA.”  
  
The teen rolled her eyes, “Look maybe it was just some weird dude, Or maybe it was one of the staff dicking with you. We’ll get the pumpkins, I’ll make you lunch at home, but y’all are going to come back here tonight. And you’re going to tell me how it goes.”  
  
“You’re not coming with us short stack?”  
  
“I enjoy the hayride, yeah. But I’m not coming if you’re all going to act like this. I am not _the_ adult of this group by a long shot,” she leveled each of them with an unimpressed gaze.  
  
She stood and ushered the guys back towards the front of the farm. Bringing them over to huge containers filled with pumpkins. She explained that they had to pick the pumpkin that spoke to them, the one they want to carve. They all dispersed, picking through the large wooden containers. Phobos would pick one up and knock on it gently and listen to the sound before moving on to another. Meouch was picking them up and eyeing each one like they would tell him their secrets. Most frightening was Havve, picking them up and weighing them in hand, almost looking like he was searching for the heaviest. The sole human seemed to have her own well used technique, she would pick up the pumpkin, press against the rind with fingertips, smoothing them over the uneven surface of the gourd. Gently she would also knock against it and weigh it in her hands. Eventually she had a pumpkin and sat on the one offered bench while the other three mulled about the vegetables.  
  
His eyes glanced over the seas of oranges and whites, of the smaller more decorative green and white gourds. He wandered over to the nearest pumpkin and picked it up. The weight was unusual, the skin almost cool to the touch even out in the fall sunlight. The skin of this one was fairly smooth, only a few rough brown spots. He put it down and picked up another, again his fingertips ran along the skin, this one had more bumps, but no rough patches. This one also was placed back where he picked it up from.  
  
He was the last to pick a pumpkin, the others gathered by the small outdoor kiosk waiting for him. Finally his eyes fell on a pumpkin, short and squat, almost elliptical in shape. This was the one he wanted. Plucking it from it’s nest of other vegetables, he headed over to his group. “Everyone set?” soft murmurs of agreement and eager nods of heads. Tabatha, with great patience, got all their pumpkins weighed and paid for. With great efficiency she shepherded the intergalactic band back into their van, with pumpkins stowed in the back, nesting in old blankets to keep them from jostling and breaking. Sung had never felt so relieved to leave a place as he did when the engine roared to life and carried the group off.


	2. Fright Night

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I LOVE THE ART IN THIS CHAPTER LIKE HOLY POOP.
> 
> Again, go see my lovely friend twinnAJ on their [ main blog](https://twinnaj.tumblr.com/) and their [art blog](https://twinnart.tumblr.com/). They're a saint.

There were more people at night. Fright Nights they were fondly called. Humans pressing in against each other to try and get into the farm. Excited murmurings, children crying, raised voices of people trying to locate their groups, partners, or families. It was almost another world compared to the bright autumn day-scape they left behind hours ago. Their human guide grumbled under her breath at the large crowd whenever she was jostled. They had counted their lucky stars that Phobos wasn't glowing. The sunblock and long sleeves really helping out with preventing the telltale signs that he wasn't exactly human.  
  
Finally they managed to push through the lines and found themselves in a much more open area, the other patrons dispersing naturally into the grounds. Autumn wind ripped past layers of clothing, and bit at his skin. Tugging the jacket tighter to his frame he tried not to remember the afternoon. "So what do we do first?" the Commander nestled into the humans scalp, almost like Dangus would if he was quite honest.  
  
"Well the lines are going to be something awful. I haven't ever been to any of these haunts, they're much different from when I was a kid," her hand cupped her chin and fingers tapped lightly against her skin. The rhythm of them was off, like it was to a tune only she could hear, a frequency only for humans.  
  
' _You said you like the hayride, why not that?_ ' Phobos then motioned to the map.  
  
The group huddled around the map, until a person marked as "Staff" gave them a handheld map. The idea was to go to the haunted house and the outdoor haunt before hitting up the hayride. The group made their way through giggling teen couples, young adults smelling faintly of alcohol and parents ushering their children back towards the entrance. The line for the haunted house was ridiculous. wrapping around itself like the snake game on his old human flip phone. Blinking he noticed that the others were chatting quietly amongst themselves, leaving him to his thoughts. Havve's softened LED beams fell on him, "ARE YOU STILL THINKING ABOUT THE INCIDENT FROM THIS AFTERNOON?"  
  
A non-committal hum escaped him, drawing the ears of his other companions. "Have you seen any of the staff looking like the guy you mentioned? We past a couple of zombie looking fellows back there," Meouch jabbed a thumb back the way they came.  
  
Almost as if the staff knew they were talking about them, a woman in a tattered white dress stumbled towards them. A crazed smile and white teeth stretched into an unsettling smile pulled her greyed face gaunt over her cheekbones. Dark circles around her eyes, and what looked like rope burns around her neck as she twitched and glanced between them, her eyes settling on the lone female, "Well aren't you just a pretty thing. Could just eat you right up," an unsettling laugh tumbled from dark painted lips.  
  
The girl just smiled brightly, "Well aren't you just lovely? I'd love to be whisked away by you." The staff member seemed unphased as she twitched, smiled impossibly wider and tottered off.  
  
"Did you just,” a soft pause as he searched for the words, “hit on a chick dressed as a ghost?" the commander seemed baffled.  
  
The youngest laughed, "Sure did, but she was looking to unsettle someone. Too bad for her that she only looked creepy."  
  
The others broke into relaxed laughter at that, it was true, the words fell flat on the sole human and she had taken it in stride. They continued their soft chatter, talking about how lunch had been, what their plans were for their pumpkins. The line shifted the whole time and before they knew it they were being ushered into the house as a group.  
  
The dim lighting, the spooky ambient music was setting the mood of the interior of the 'house'. There was more staff in the house, not all the scares were machine made. Although the slamming door they passed through from the main room into a cellar looking place made him jump. The staff member behind them shuffling into the cell and reaching through the bars to paw at the air beside them. Distracted by the man, they kept moving forward until the light in his cell turned off, and they were drawn towards another cell along the other wall, the soft blue light falling upon skeletons in different stages of being shackled; One to the wall by his wrists, one with a hand outstretched towards the bars of the cell chained to the wall by an ankle, one curled up against a wall with its head resting at an unsettling angle facing anyone who wandered past the cell. So distracted they were by what was going on in the cell they all jumped when behind them came a strong rattling and an angered scream for escape from hell came directly behind them. They all jumped and turned as the man from earlier gripped the bars and rattled them viciously.  
  
Quickly they moved past a curtained doorway into the next area. There were some stairs and they were ushered up by a creepy looking girl in overalls. She lead them upstairs with a lantern to light the way. She spoke of her family, and warned them not to cross her mother. To be careful of the mirrors. They gently passed by her, unsettled by the soft voice and pale makeup in the haunted house. Just as the last of them passed her she cackled loudly before retreating back down the stairs. passing through another curtained doorway there was more soft blue light, but this room was almost reminiscent of a funhouse full of mirrors. They examined some of the mirrors and paintings on the walls, freaking out when eyes followed them, or thumps and wailing could be heard behind the mirrors. By this time the girl's hand was firmly wrapped around Hogan's arm, the other gripping tightly to Phobos' sleeve. She kept muttering the word 'no' under her breath. And as they came to the end of the twisted mirror and hall walls filled with creepy moving paintings, it opened up to a large floor to ceiling mirror. They all glanced at it, stepping closer to it, when a body all but threw itself at the glass and the girl and Meouch let out startled screams. the woman on the other side banged on the glass a few times, pressing pale hands against it and smiling at them like she was moments away from eating the flesh from their bones.  
  
"Nope," the human shook herself out of the horrific sight and ushered the boys along. Almost as soon as they had stepped past the curtain did the woman from behind the mirror was there. Smiling at them silently, following after them slowly. It was freaking him out too, to be honest and when she let out a blood curdling scream, so did he and the previous two offenders.    
  
They made it past the darkly lit hallway to another set of stairs. This one was better lit than the one going up and they headed down it slowly. They wound up in an area not unlike a housebarn’s barn area, the floor littered with hay, hay bails now the only indicator of where to go. This time when someone jumped out at them, he jumped back, on edge from the woman upstairs. This man was also pale, but looked like he had been attacked, he was whispering at them that they needed to hide, that someone was after them all and wouldn't stop until they were all dead. Heavy footsteps echoed behind them and they turned to see a man with a large butcher's knife standing there. They booked it, running and gasping for breath and once they cleared the edge of the haunted house they all began to laugh.  
  
"Well that was spooky!" the girl managed to get out between fits of laughter.  
  
"You're telling me! Shoulda heard you scream short stack."  
  
"YOU YELLED AS WELL COMMANDER."  
  
Sung couldn't stop the nervous laughter, but it evolved into real laughter. "That was a blast! Tabby that was incredible! And there's more you said?" he wiped tears from his eyes from the good solid laughter.  
  
"Yeah man! There's another one, looks like it's mostly outside and then there is the classic hayride. But I'm sure they changed it if that was any indication. I don't remember the Witch's Hut to be that spooky," she brushed off her jacket and took Meouch's hand this time. Leading the group through the farm grounds like she had spent every day there and it hadn't in fact been years since she had gone.  
  
When they came upon the outdoor haunt, they paused. There were torches and bloodied pigs heads were skewered on posts. They might have been masks, had to have been, there was no awful stench. They were ushered in by a man wearing one of the pig masks wearing a bloodied apron. Watching them with beady eyes as they walked past. There was a bit of a walkway through some sort of corn or hayfield, Sung wasn't familiar enough with human agriculture to tell the difference. But there were plenty of torches to light the area. They passed from the field into a long shed like structure that had what looked like another man in a pig head, he was also wielding a butcher's knife, but it looked like he was using it to cut something and as they got closer they saw the table covered in blood and various body parts in several states of dismemberment. They all shied past the pig man on the other side if the wooden fence. Then they heard it: The roar of a chainsaw echoing in the small structure. The whole group moved as if they shared a single brain cell, turning towards the entrance of the structure where a pig man was wielding the aforementioned chainsaw. The man took a step forward and the human was off like a shot. Out of the structure before any of them could grasp her fleeing form.  They turned and followed suit, running out of the structure and into the golden fields. Now there were less lights, the torches spread further apart, causing the plants to shift from golden to a blue-gray colour. Their human companion was nowhere to be seen. Probably continuing to sprint long after exiting the building. The chainsaw sound got closer and they all continued into the grey area of the pathway. Eventually the sound of the chainsaw cut, and they slowed to catch their breaths.  
  
"Man she really ran for it, huh?" Meouch swiped the back of his hand across his forehead and his ears twitched, like he was trying to listen for their companion.  
  
"I didn't think she could sprint like that honestly," Sung laughed nervously. Truth be told he wanted to run after the girl and get out of this place as quick as possible. It was unsettling and more terrifying than the house had been. They kept walking along the pathway until rustling behind them drew their attention. They all turned to see a pig man exit from in the field directly onto the path behind them. The man pointed at them, then slowly brought his thumb to his neck and drug it across the bloodied latex neck. A silent threat to kill them in this motion.    
  
This spurred the group around the corner of the pathway, a chain-link fence now boxing them along the pathway and more torches to light their way. As they walked past the pig from the walkway pitched himself at the chain-link fence and rattled it, they all jumped slightly and laughed nervously. They could hear the sound of the chainsaw somewhere in front of them and they all swallowed hard. Eventually the chain-link fence gave way to simple wrought iron posts with chains running through them. The beaten dirt path turning into grass suddenly. Again the torches were spaced further apart and some of the pathway was midnight blue instead of a soft green with a golden hue. They continued on, faint screams heard from up ahead, followed by the terrifying sound of the chainsaw. It was tense, unlike the haunted house there wasn't as much to distract them, and they knew something was after them. The tension was palpable.  
  
There were trees now, small wooden baskets filled with apples under a few. They cautiously pushed forward before the sound of the chainsaw came from directly behind the tree just barely in the circle of light from the torch on the pathway beside them. Shaking their heads they watched the pigman round the corner with the chainsaw and moved to follow after them. This time they sprinted without hesitation. Fleeing the nightmare inducing creature, and pushing further ahead.   
  
The grass gave way to soft dirt, if it had been raining it might have even been muddy. There was another shack ahead of them. Larger than the first, with a gentle sloping roof. It almost reminded him of a large dairy barn, they had seen a few on the trip up from Toronto but something seemed a little different about this one. Probably the peeling paint and general rough abandoned look despite the torches on the outside of it. The group still hadn't come across Tabby, she must have sprinted all the way through the whole thing. They slowly entered the barn and the light switched from the warm glow of flames to the awful humming white of fluorescent tube lights. Dairy barn had been correct, different pens and stalls filled with hay and dismembered animals and human parts. One of the stalls had the wall knocked down, opening it up into a double, and there was another pig man stirring a pot of what looked like blood. He stopped and watched the group walk by, his head silently following their every step. The turn of a corner and they could hear the sounds of the rest of the farm again. People screaming and laughing, turning around it they could see the exit.  
  
Just then a solid boot kicked one of the wooden doors behind them and they jumped. The sound of the chainsaw echoing through the building called their eyes back towards the thing that had been chasing them all night. This time when they looked at him, standing at least twenty feet away, he started to run at them. They all jumped and scrambled towards the exit. A high whining scream escaping his mouth followed by Meouch;s more acceptable scream of terror.  They escaped onto the farm grounds just as the sound of the chainsaw stopped. They turned to look at the pigman who was standing there and staring at them with the chainsaw held by his side. A small body collided with him and he jumped out of his skin.  
  
"Oh my god I'm so sorry I left you guys, I was just so scared and he kept following me and I didn't know what to do," the girl pressed her forehead roughly into the hard edge of his shoulder blade.  
  
"Hey it's cool Tabs, that shit was terrifying," Meouch gently pried the smallest free of her death grip on the keytarist.  
  
"IF I HAD NOT KNOWN THEY WERE ACTORS I MAY HAVE RETALIATED," Havve's voice broke the tension.  
  
Sung was the first to laugh, high and nervous. Then the others slowly joined him, their own laughter nervous until it once again gave way to actual joy. "Man Tabby, that was intense. There's no way you did something like that when you were a kid right?" he finally shifted to look at their friend. Pale skin and wild eyes met his and she nodded softly. Gently he patted her head, trying to comfort the disgruntled teen, "You said you liked the hayride right? Let's do that and then get out of here."  
  
' _I'm going to need to watch Disney movies all night after this_ ,' Phobos' shoulders were tense and Sung had zero idea how he had been so quiet.  
  
This time Hogan gently took the human's smaller hand and tugged her along. The crowd naturally drawing towards one of the main attractions. The human seemed to genuinely relax at the contact and soon the strain melted into a soft smile. "Man I dunno if I can handle anything that intense. What about you Phobos?" the bassist was walking close enough to the guitarists that they would occasionally brush together and Sung wondered if it was the same for them as it was for Tabby, seeking comfort in another person, in their friend.  
  
He couldn't see Phobos' hands from here, but he saw the way his arms jostled and his hair shifted as he signed his response to the cat-like alien. "Yeah man, I don't care if there is anything else. After this we go home," the finality in the bassist's voice had a tinge of panic still laced around the edges.  
  
This line was far longer than the first haunted house and now he was worried they would be out here for hours. He wasn't sure he could handle that. No hayride could be worth the ache in his legs as he tried to keep himself entertained for that long. Thankfully the line always seemed to be shuffling along at a steady pace. Other people would talk to them too, it was like being crammed so close together made people friendlier. The time seemed to pass quickly, the ease of their conversation slowly erasing the terror from the last place they were at.  
  
Then he felt eyes on his back, a chill tracing up the back of his neck. Turning around he searched the crowd behind them. the sea of people was all around them now and it was almost claustrophobic when he couldn't figure out who was staring at him.  
  
  
  
A gentle hand on his arm brought his gaze to the guitarist, ' _Is something bothering you Sung?_ ' his deft fingers danced, an almost nervousness to them.  
  
"Yeah, just thought someone was staring at me, weird huh?"  
  
' _No. I feel it too,_ ' long hair danced as he looked from side to side.  
  
Sung swallowed a lump in his throat, so he wasn't the only one feeling this odd feeling. Maybe there was some substance to his thoughts. He looked around again, still not seeing anything. He shrugged softly before the girl dragged them back into conversations of her carving pumpkins when she was much smaller. It was easy to listen to her, but difficult to ignore the odd feeling of eyes gazing at him, or through him. A shiver danced up his spine.  
  
They could see the barn where the tractors that drove huge wagons was. The sound of their engines progressively getting louder, looks like it was two machines, spaced evenly apart so that as one was leaving one was unloading. He could hear the excited chatter of people leaving the area. They were so close he could almost taste the fuel in the air. Tabby shifted from foot to foot, "Hey you good?"  
  
“Yeah. It just feels like someone is watching us you know?" green eyes flit around the crowd behind them. He joined in the search but this time something caught his eye. The young man from earlier, ghastly pale, stood against the backdrop of night darkened trees. Far away from the barn.  
  
He gently tugged at Phobos' sleeve, "Hey, hey pal, can you just. Just look over by the tree line. Do you see him?"  
  
Phobos took a moment before he stood stock still. An almost imperceptible nod.  
  
Sung turned to the girl, but her eyes were round as saucers as she looked at the tree line, "Aren't, aren't those your sunglasses?"  
  
Sure enough, glancing back at the man at the tree line, his glasses were tucked into the front of his shirt. "Y-yeah, looks like it," he realized that they hadn't moved forward and Hogan was corralling them forwards, away from the tree line and into the protection of the barn.  
  
They all crammed in nice and tight in the wagon. Sung, Phobos, and Tabatha sitting on the outside bench and Meouch and Havve sitting on the inner bench. Their knees bounced and bumped together. Somehow the jostle of the machine and wagon caused the trio to forget the panic they had just experienced.  
  
The hayride was like a haunted house all its own, but sprawling. They would come across an abandoned shed, a person hanging from a rope, smoke pouring out of the chimney before someone kicked their way out of it, wielding a hunting rifle and screaming at them to get the hell away from here.  They pulled up next to a swamp, the lights illuminating it in green, the water burbling and they could see things moving. Hands grabbed the side of the waggon and shook it up and down. People screamed and jumped, jostling their neighbors and even causing them to scream as a reaction to the fright of those around them.  
  
It continued like that, they would pull up to an area and stop and something would go off and scare the crap out of them. The driver talking to them the whole while, telling them about the area, what to watch out for. Fireworks made Tabby grip his knee so hard he was sure he was going to have five perfectly circular bruises. Eventually she screamed, causing even Phobos to let out an undignified squawk of terror. A train could be heard, and even he thought maybe it was a real train, not some elaborate set up. But when the horn blasted at them and it burst through the trees, the single main light lighting the whole wagon up, she screamed like she was getting murdered.  
  
He could tell the ride was almost over. The excited murmurings of the other patrons after the driver had announced the fact that there was a killer in the area. The sound of the chainsaw jolted the group of five, small fingers digging mercilessly into his knee. The man with the chainsaw ran after the wagon, the whir of the blades bouncing off the tree lined road differently then it had in the previous area. Eventually the sound of the chainsaw faded and the tractor and wagon pulled back up to the starting point of the hayride.  
  
The group shakily got to their feet, exiting slowly. Walking through the farm grounds with glazed eyes. Again Sung felt that cold as ice finger trace down his spine. He turned on his heel, almost slamming into Havve in the process. Eyes locked onto the pale figure standing in the shadows of the trees just a few yards away.  
  
"Whoa man, you almost brained yourself on Havve's chest plate. You good?" the bassist gently rested a hand on his shoulder.  
  
"It's the guy," he pointed to the trees. He could clearly see his sunglasses nestled on the man's breastbone.  
  
"WHAT GUY ARE YOU TALKING ABOUT DOCTOR."  
  
Phobos and Tabatha, had also noticed the pale man, and they shared a look before she spoke, "Havve, can you see a guy, about four yards in front of us?"  
  
The drummer shook his head, "THERE IS NO ONE THERE LADY TABATHA. PERHAPS YOU ARE JUST TIRED."  
  
Even Meouch frowned slightly, "Yeah man, there's a dude. He's smiling at us super creepily."  
  
Tabatha tugged on Phobos' sleeve, signing to him quickly before rushing off across the grounds. "Phobs, what is she doing buddy?" he felt his eyes go wide, as she rushed through throngs of people towards the man with the unsettling smile.  
  
' _Trying to get your glasses back,_ ' was the only answer he gave. Even though he seemed stressed, like he wanted to elaborate more.  
  
"I CAN NOT SEE WHO SHE IS GOING TOWARDS."  
  
"It's okay pal, maybe, maybe you should go with Meouch to start the van. I'm sure Tabby is going to be tired," Sung could feel how strained his smile was.  
  
"You know, I think that's a great idea. Let’s go pal," the bassist gently ushered the drummer away from the remaining two.  
  
As soon as she was maybe ten feet away from the man, he just disappeared. Just like the blink of an eye, there and gone. That didn't stop the human, but it greatly slowed her down, "Don't get too close Tabby. Your mom would murder us if anything happened to you." Unable to hear his soft mutterings, she pushed forward until she was right about where the man had been. Scooping down to lift something from the ground, raising it above her head and waving. He sighed the breath he wasn't aware he was holding, at least until Phobos' fingers clutching his jacket cut him off. Looming over their friend was the man, but no longer did he resemble an oddly pale human. It was like someone had taken away everything that made human's soft, the creature was all jagged edges, long claw like fingers reaching towards the girl. Sung took an involuntary step forward just as the girl sprinted back towards them. Long ghostly fingers appearing to brush the ends of her hair before grasping nothing but air.  
  
A ghastly scream, made the three of them jump, and instead of running towards the other two, the human pivoted and sprinted towards the front entrance. The other two scrambled to follow after.  
  
They finally caught up to her, bent beside the van trying to gasp for air. "No one else heard that you know?" she finally managed to get out.  
  
"Heard what?" he blinked at the girl, she was clutching the sunglasses to her chest and her shoulders trembled ever so slightly.  
  
"The scream, no one even blinked an eye. We need to go," she stood and yanked the door open. The Commander squawking at her to be more gentle.  
  
Phobos nodded, mouth set into a grim line as he also crawled into the van. Sung could only shrug and follow the other two and shut the door behind them.  
  
"Everyone buckled in?" the bassist looked over his shoulder to the three stragglers. A soft chorus of affirmation and the engine roared to life. "Great."  
  
"DID YOU FIND THE GLASSES LADY TABATHA?"  
  
"Yup," she popped the 'p' sound.  
  
"ARE YOU GOING TO RETURN THEM?"  
  
"No Havve. I'm going to set them on fire."


	3. Pumpkin Carving

It may have been a little overboard. The plastic tarp on the ground, garbage bags covering the kitchen chairs. Heavy duty plastic sheet over the table. Also the knives, so many knives. The silver blades glinting in the overhead light. There were also bowls and spoons set on the table. In the center of it all were their five pumpkins.  
  
The group had decided to burn the glasses as soon as they got back to where they were staying. Taking them to the small fire pit in the back with some salt. The human had set the few pieces of wood in the pit on fire, then tossed the glasses on top. She threw small bits of salt into the flame, muttering things under her breath. The aliens watched as the cheap plastic curled and melted. No longer looking like sunglasses and just a black lump. The smell of burning plastic was noxious and Sung was happy they had been outside for it.  
  
After all the excitement and some troubled sleep, they decided to head back home to Toronto. The drive had been tense and quiet, not like their excited banter on the way down to Ottawa had been. There was a lot of staring out the windows being lost in their own thoughts. They surprisingly never stopped a single time on the way back home, not even to stretch their legs.  
  
When they got home the group stumbled out of the vehicle and into their respective homes. Only receiving a single text from their neighbor saying they would carve the pumpkins before the trick-or-treaters would be out.  
  
That's where they were now. Everything covered in plastic because, "This is messy and I'm sure as hell not going to be the one to clean it up." With bowls to, "Collect the guts. Mom'll roast the seeds and you can have some." He wasn't sure why she had called them guts, but he shrugged it off as innate human oddness.  
  
Tabatha returned to the room with another knife, "Do we really need all these knives? I feel kinda, unsafe?" the Commander looked at the human, ears pressed flush to his skull.  
  
"It's fine, they're for the pumpkins. Havve, put the pumpkin down. You are not smashing it," Sung wondered how she could see behind herself. She was not looking at Havve and there were no mirrors.  
  
"CAN I SMASH IT AFTER THE NIGHT IS DONE?" the tinny voice rasped out of the voice box.  
  
"Sure you can, but I'm not cleaning it up."  
  
She then took the time to explain how pumpkin carving worked. Most people carved faces, Jack-o-Lantern's, but some people carved other artistic pieces. Pulling out her phone, she showed them a pumpkin from one of her friends. They had carved the old Batman the Animated Series Batman with the moon behind him. It was really quite good.  
  
Then she went through knife safety. "Cut away from yourself. Cut straight down if you need to. If I see any horse play with the knives we're done. Got it?" the tone of voice brokered no arguments. The guys just all nodded. They all watched as she took a permanent marker from her pocket and looked around, "Does anyone want to draw what they want to carve?" Phobos held his hand up and she handed him a marker. Meouch also held his hand out for a marker and another marker was procured from her pocket. "What about you guys?" she looked between the drummer and the keytaurist.  
  
Sung shook his head, "I'm not sure yet. I want to cut into the pumpkin and see how I feel about it afterwards." Havve nodded in agreement with the shorter alien. The human just hummed softly and uncapped her marker.  
  
The soft sounds of the fabric tips against the surface of the pumpkins was soothing after the intense weekend. The whole thing even seeming rather domestic. The girl had traced a decent sized opening at the top of her pumpkin, but other than that Sung couldn't see what she was doing. He couldn't see what Meouch or Phobos were doing either, but they seemed engrossed in their own artistic moment. Slowly his eyes drifted to Havve, the drummer sitting there quietly, a knife in a death grip in his right hand and his left arm draped lazily across the largest pumpkin.  
  
Tabatha sighed and capped her marker, sitting back with a soft crinkle of plastic as she eyed her masterpiece. "Alright time to cut this bad boy open," she smiled before picking up a long sharp looking knife. With little fanfare she held the pumpkin steady before inserting the knife into the orange flesh of the vegetable. She firmly sliced the knife along the black outline of her pumpkin top. Following the line with practiced care. All eyes were on this small girl wielding a knife that could easily slice through the pumpkin and her hand. Once the circular top popped free, she gently placed the knife towards the center of the table, away from the edge, and away from her general work area.  
  
She gently lifted the top of the pumpkin up by the stem and revealed the pale orange flesh inside along with stringy fibrous bits with some seeds attached. It was quite gross and seemed slightly slimy. Small hands worked the loose bits free and dumped it into a bowl she then tugged closer to her space. Then she picked up a metal spoon and gently scraped the top part into the bowl as well. "You want to clean out the pumpkin as much as possible. It will make it look nicer when you put the light inside it," her voice was soft, as if their unwavering gazes made her uncomfortable.  
  
Then her small arm disappeared into the pumpkin and scooped out a wet looking handful of seeds and plant fibers and suddenly Sung knew why she had called them guts. They were quite literally gutting the pumpkins, scraping out their wet mushy insides. It made his skin crawl. He then watched as Meouch placed the marker into the center of the table and grabbed the same knife the girl had used to pop the top off hers. His eyes drifted to Phobos who seemed to still be drawing on the front of his pumpkin, but he leaned over to show the drummer and Havve nodded once before Phobos returned to his drawing. When Meouch had the top off his he handed the knife to Havve, who without guidelines quickly and efficiently carved through the top of his pumpkin.   
  
The sound of the metal spoon on the inside of the pumpkin drew his eyes away from his bandmates and towards the girl who seemed to be humming some sort of Halloween song under her breath. Phobos gently tapped her shoulder to get her attention, but he could only see half the signs due to the pumpkins in his way. "Yeah man, grab the spooky mix I made you guys a couple years ago. It's got some classics on it," she smiled as the silent one made his way back into the house.  
  
The knife was now in front of him, the bassist and drummer gutting their own pumpkins. He picked it up by the handle carefully, before he too plunged the tip into the orange skin. There was more resistance than he thought there would be. Havve and Tabatha making it seem easy, but he had to use a more saw like motion, plunging the edge of the knife against the tough skin over and over again. Finally the lid released itself and Sung sighed in relief. At least no one had seen him struggling.  
  
Phobos had then returned with an old portable CD player, the thing was old and the paint was chipped but Sung knew it worked. He had fixed it the other day just to entertain himself. Once plugged in and resting in the corner of the room, the music slowly filtered through to him. It was a Halloween CD the girl had gifted them and even though she had called it spooky music, it was all fun almost dance like tunes.  
  
Just as Phobos returned to his seat and grabbed the knife, their house guest began to sing along to the Monster Mash with a soft gleeful smile. Sung couldn't help but smile at his friends before he touched the fibrous bits from his pumpkin lid. It was disgusting, it was cold and awkwardly slimy and how on earth did the girl just touch it with her hands like that? That's crazy. He could feel his mouth turn down into a grimace and he definitely pulled as face as he grappled with the viscous, slimy monstrosity.  
  
Once most of it was off he grabbed the spoon and scraped as much off the top as he possibly could. The spoon dragging into the flesh and leaving many curved indents. Looking into the pumpkin he groaned. It was like orange slimy cobwebs, spanning from side to side inside the hollow vegetable. Why would anyone do this more than once? This was gross!  
  
He glanced up to see Havve, both arms elbow deep in his monster sized pumpkin. The drummer then hauled up both hands filled to bursting with pumpkin insides. They made a wet plopping noise as they hit the inside of the bowl. He could tell that he was making a disgusted face, the Commander laughed at him. "What is this too gross for you man? You jammed a drum kit into Hogan's chest, but pumpkins are where you draw the line?" the tall feline man laughed.  
  
"That's different! I didn't touch any of his fleshy bits with my bare hands!" he was appalled to think that the two were comparable.  
  
The human laughed, "I think trying to jam a drum kit in and around some lungs and a heart would be a little more visceral than this, but that's okay. I used to not like it either. I cried the first time we carved pumpkins at my house."  
  
"The first time?" Meouch's ears perked up.  
  
"Yeah I was too small to use knives still. So I drew the face on and my dad did the carving for me. But I had to gut the pumpkin. I also named him Bob, so I was upset when I had to take out his brains and it was so gross, I cried."  
  
At this the table erupted into laughter, and it eased Sung's discomfort. He reached his hand in and grabbed a handful of the fibers. When he tugged it made a ripping sound and he paused a moment before tugging again. The odd wet ripping sound seemed to silence the whole of the table as all eyes locked onto him and his newly released handful of pumpkin fibers. "Still gross, but not so bad," he softly smiled at his friends.  
  
The room fell back into a comfortable silence as the band members slowly removed the fibers and seeds from their pumpkins. Havve's eyes flickered slightly, the red light dancing across the white plastic on the table. Tabatha stood from her chair, the plastic crinkling and grabbed a smaller knife. She turned her head side to side before inserting the knife into the pumpkin. He grasped a spoon and began to scrape the inside of his pumpkin. All he could smell was the wet gross fresh smell of pumpkin. He would never look at a pumpkin pie the same way again. No matter how good his neighbors’ vegetarian recipe was.  
  
By the time he was scraping the last bits of pumpkin seeds and fibers, the rest of the table seemed to be carving. A quick glance at Phobos' hands showed he had a small carving tool, while the other three were using regular knives. He still wasn't sure what he wanted to carve. The others seemed to be well aware of what they wanted to carve.  
  
He stared at his pumpkin and hummed. Finally he snapped his fingers and grabbed a marker. Sketching out his idea onto the uneven surface of his squat pumpkin was hard, but that was fine. Eventually he traded his marker for a knife and inserted the blade into the pumpkin.  
  
He glanced up as Havve exited the room, silent in leaving, but his pumpkin was still facing away from them all. Sung itched to see what the cyborg had carved but he stayed his antsy legs and focused back down on his carving.  
  
Havve returned with many more knives, and suddenly he was concerned. "Hey man, what's all that about?" the bassist's chair crackled with plastic as he tipped his chair away from the table.  
  
"YOU SHALL SEE MY FRIEND," was the cryptic response. The large pumpkin was lowered onto the chair and from what he could see, Havve was just strategically sticking the thing with all the knives.  
  
Sung shook his head, turning back to the curved shape he just pushed out of place. He ran the knife along the carved edge, making it more visible before working the knife below the curve.  
  
They all continued on like that, until two knives were placed on the table. He glanced up and saw the human and Meouch stretch at the same time. "How's it going over here?" the girl stood and wandered around the dining table. She stopped and inspected Phobos' pumpkin before just humming and nodding. Moving to Havve's, she sighed and shook her head. Then Meouch shifted his pumpkin slightly so she wouldn't have to pass around his side of the table, another soft hum. She then backtracked towards Sung, he shied away from her gaze, concentrating on carving out the smaller details of his pumpkin. Her small frame bent into his space, eyeing the design before giving a soft nod and sitting back in her chair.  
  
Sung, despite being the last to start, was not the last to finish. Phobos was being overly meticulous. Taking his sweet time with the tools, his face the picture of intense concentration. When he was finally done he brushed some hair out of his face before turning the pumpkin towards them. The Lord had painstakingly carved a night sky, beside the sliver of a crescent moon he had left some of the orange skin intact. Leaving a dark spot where the dark part of the moon would blot out the light of the stars. All around that dark area the orange skin was peeled away, thinned ever so carefully. He was positive there were holes in the orange flesh, he couldn’t see them, but he knew they had to be there. Along the bottom edge of his pumpkin looked to be a treeline and Sung was no longer surprised by how long it had taken his friend to get this much work done. “Holy smokes Phobos! That’s crazy cool!” the bassist had stood up and leaned against the table to get a better look.   
  
‘ _What does yours look like Tabatha?_ ’ deft fingers motioned towards the human’s pumpkin.   
  
“Like a normal Jack-o-Lantern?” she huffed a laugh before turning the pumpkin to show a classic grin with triangle eyes and a triangle nose. “How about you Meouch?”   
  
“Well cats are a Halloween thing right?” the pumpkin was turned to show a very clean cut outline of a cat with its tail curved behind it’s seated form. Thin cats eyes even held the elliptical slit, “Hogan?”   
  
He lifted the pumpkin to the table. At least a dozen handle buried into the orange skin. “IT WILL LOOK BETTER WITH LIGHT,” he turned the pumpkin so you could see a hole carved in the side where you could see all the blades glinting dangerously. Continuing the turn was a face that looked afraid on the side opposite the blades. “HOW DID YOUR’S TURN OUT DOCTOR?” all eyes turned to him.   
  
Sung scratched the back of his neck and slowly turned his pumpkin towards the group, “Because of the shape I thought this would be good?” Nervously his eyes flit about, everyone’s were so good!   
  
“It’s a UFO with stars! I love it!” the human smiled at him.   
  
“I would never have thought to do that. The shape is so weird, I thought you were going to draw an emoji face on it or something,” Meouch had to crane his head a little to look at the simple design.   
  
‘ _It is very you Sung,_ ’ Phobos beamed at him.   
  
The group laughed, beginning to stand up from the table. The sound of plastic being peeled from their bodies danced around the room and the human and Phobos gathered up the two large bowls. Excusing themselves to bring them next door. Meouch and Havve picked up their pumpkins and followed them to the front door, placing them on some old wooden table Havve had made so long ago. The bassist and guitarist returned for the other two pumpkins while Sung slowly started to remove all the garbage bags and knives that weren’t being used in the drummer’s pumpkin. By the time they were rolling up the plastic painter’s tarp and folding the heavy duty white plastic table cover, their neighbor and Phobos returned.   
  
“I got you some LED lights from my place. You can hang onto them. I’d let you use some weird alien light source but I don’t want you to blind any of the kids,” she placed four identical lights on the table. The girl grabbed her pumpkin, “I have to go get ready for the little kiddies. Try not to scare anyone okay?” and just like that their neighbor left them.   
  
Halloween that year wasn’t nearly as exciting as it had been the other previous years, but that was okay. Relaxing and calm was what they needed after whatever had happened on Saunder’s Farm that weekend. Plus, if their neighbors heard the solid thunk of a pumpkin being slammed into the pavement along with the skittering of metal, well that could easily be chalked up to the eccentricities of their drummer.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for sticking with me to the end of this! Again check out twinnAJ at their [ main blog](https://twinnaj.tumblr.com/) and their [art blog](https://twinnart.tumblr.com/). 
> 
> And if you didn't read last years post and are curious about Tabatha and her relation to the guys, check out my piece from last year [Nothing Stays the Same](https://archiveofourown.org/works/14628639/chapters/33808962).
> 
> And if you want to yell at me check out my [tumblr](https://chibitabathasloves.tumblr.com/)!


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